Artisteer

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Worst customer service, no one to talk to.
Need upgraded version to get access to their marketplace (so one can export it to Weebly, Joomla..etc..). Of course they don't tell you that until you buy the less expensive version. Which I must now pay for both (less expensive, expensive) version.
Tried getting a refund, was completely ignored.

I used to love this. Paid the updates every year to get the new version. Used to be the only tool that made template design visual not just about coding. (There are others now.. thankfully

Cons

Then at some point they couldn't figure out how to block pirates in a smart way, so they created a system that runs all your design through their server to export Joomla Wordpress or Drupal. If you are not online, or they are not online. I stopped buying the updates. was happy with my version that didn't need the server. Well today that one tried to activate and says it can't find the server, imagine if I paid for new version and that happened. They are trying to force people to update by breaking the already sold software AND when I complained on about the error on their support forum they deleted it vs telling me the activation servers were coming. Also it was found they were using mail address in Seattle that forwards the email so you wouldn't know where the real developers are

Summary

Good product, Turned bad company can't be trusted.. don't risk it anymore

Generates simple html5, css and javascriptCreates responsive websitesAttractive templates quicklyFull website if you want itSupports many cms such as wordpress, joomla, codechargeRelatively easy to useOngoing development by the companyDirt cheap for what it does

Cons

Seems complex at firstThe public forum for the software is full of d*ckheads

Summary

Artisteer is a great tool for rapidly prototyping a website, creating templates for popular cms, or even generating a full static website. It is not a drag and drop WYSIWYG designer, so the website code it produces uses a full external css that is easy to edit. Typical wysiwyg designers, on the other hand, generate appalling in-line css that can never be changed outside of the designer.

Artisteer is a tool for use by professional website developers, rather than novices wanting to design just one website for their own use.

1.) Mass production of templates for websites that are both simple and complex are pretty simple to create if you take time to learn the software and how it behaves.

2.) Manually edit web code working between code and graphical user interfaces (GUI) so there is the best of both worlds for web design from a hard coding and graphical perspective.

3.) There are several content management systems (CMS) which you can develop templates for and you can produce multiple variants of the same templates for different these management systems.

4.) You can quickly change design layouts without completely redesigning a template if you choose which makes adapting a template to better suit the website content much simpler and less time consuming for the developer.

5.) The GUI is quite easy to learn and intuitively designed.

There are many more pros to the software, but in all honesty it is just something you should try and experience on your own with an open mind before judging the software.

Cons

1.) The software does require a somewhat modernized computer system that is not a bunch of mashed together possibly incompatible hardware that could lead to instabilities of the program.

2.) The price could be a little lower to purchase the software yes, however it is not completely unreasonable considering what the software does and how quickly it can do it.

Summary

The cons above are the top two problems I regularly see with those who have tried Artisteer rather than the program actually being the problem in itself.

Many of these people it seems with how they are griping, that they have likely pirated the software using patches or fixes to unlock the program thus causing instabilities in the code itself. So, if you are one of those people whining it's your own darn fault. Stop being cheap, buy the software and you might not have those problems. There are also no refunds likely because the software is AVAILABLE AS A TRIAL so you can decide if you like it or not. Of course they're not going to give refunds it is not necessary.

If you don't like the software SIMPLY DO NOT USE IT if you don't like it. Don't push your views to try convince other people it is garbage, unstable, featureless, dirty at what it does or other. Just because you had a bad experience it`s not fair to the company, the developers and to run down their hard work.

If you think you can do better and find or code something better that works good for you that's fantastic, but at least be fair with your ratings and reviews in future. You don't have to cut Artisteer down because you may have had a bad experience with the software or one of their support staff. There are ways of dealing with these sorts of situations and if you can't figure out how to do that in a positively constructive manner then you really don't deserve to get support to start with.

So with that said, all in all it's a nice software for skilled and non-skilled web developing and you should give it a try to see if it's for you or not.

Buggy as hell. Complicated. Complex. It is not WYSIWYG. No drag-and-drop. Not intuitive at all. No tutorials. The manual is long and useless. You will spend most of the time either figuring out how to do things and where things are or figuring out why you can't do things. Support? Not a chance. Forums? Some use there but no official help. Also, if you develop for WP, Joomla or Drupal, good luck with fixing anything in the template. Everything is proprietary, unmovable, or is not there. Total, complete and utter waste of time and money. If you build static pages, see "wysiwyg web builder", a million times better!

No refundsCustomer support will not answer your questions properly, more than likely they will give you a 'politicians' answer that does not help.You end up basically testing their software to find all the bugs in the code, you also pay for this privilege.When you question them on the above they will pretend that the problem has been fixed and offer you an internal release for the program - be prepared to constantly download the full program as it cannot patch. F rating on 'Better Business Bureau' - worth checking out first as they do not respond or even attempt to settle complaints. Produces bloated code that is only adequate for a website that is not intended for use (as it will perform slowly on un-efficient code).With the amount of bugs I encountered it ends up quicker to code from scratch rather than using Artisteer.I could keep going but I am bored of typing and you are bored of reading.

Summary

If you have seen this review I would suggest not paying for Aristeer and finding a free of a similar program - that way you can expect it to be poor but at least you haven't paid for it.

I'm sure that any positive reviews must be employees, make sure you search for others to get the big picture rather than buying it on a whim like I did.

* Artisteer Customer Support does not give refunds* Artisteer Customer Support will ignore you* Artisteer does not work with Blogger AT ALL* Artisteer does not include flash for Blogger* Fonts do not transfer to Blogger

Summary

My experience with Artisteer was simply awful. I requested a refund within 24 hours and they did not respond to my request for support or issue a refund. Artisteer claims their product works with Blogger when it truth it doesn't. Artisteer's program makes a change to Blogger coding, even after you've uninstalled the template. After you uninstall the Artisteer template your blog posts will double and triple. You can attempt to delete the widgets from within the Layout section of Blogger, but this won't work. You have to Google the issue and find the code, then enter your Blogger HTML section and permanently delete the Artisteer coding.

Also, fonts used in the header will transfer to Blogger in extremely low quality. You cannot edit headers within Blogger while using the Artisteer layout and none of their fonts transfer correctly. Prepare for very rigid, unappealing headers. Other issues occur. For instance, Flash does not work in Blogger. No matter how much Artisteer promotes flash headers and flash in their layouts, it will not transfer to Blogger. They'll tell you this after you make the purchase, expecting you to deal with the flaw in their product. Don't expect a refund.

Overall, Artisteer is a very generic product. It promises a lot, but delivers very little if you're using Blogger. It's simply a terrible product. Don't trust it, because you won't get help from customer service. Customer service won't even attempt to troubleshoot your issue. They'll tell you they don't give refunds and then cut you off cold. I sent them numerous angry emails and received only one or two responses, neither of which had a legitimate helpful answer. This is the worst money I've ever spent. USELESS PRODUCT.

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